The inaugural Automotive Aftermarket International Trade Fair, AAITF Bangkok 2015, attracted a strong global audience of key industry trade buyers and leading exhibiting brands. The B2B exhibition and conference program, free for trade visitors, took place Dec. 9-11 at the world-class IMPACT Forum Exhibition Centre in Bangkok. AAITF Bangkok was organized by Tarsus Group Ltd., an international media company, and co-located and partnered with the organizers of the Thailand International Motor Expo, which annually attracts more than 1.38 million visitors.
Thailand is the largest production base in the ASEAN and the nerve center of the supply chain for the automotive aftermarket. AAITF Bangkok 2015 provided a much-needed B2B platform for buyers from one of the world’s fastest-growing aftermarkets to source new products that can enhance their businesses, show organizers say.
Peter Massey, project director, Tarsus Group Ltd., said, “AAITF Bangkok brought something new, exciting and commercially valuable to the rapidly developing Thai and SE Asian aftermarket industry – an industry which serves 600 million-plus consumers. The response from the market has been overwhelming, and we are pleased to have welcomed over 2,550 visitors from across southeast Asia, especially so from fast-emerging economies such as Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. We look forward to continuing to serve the ASEAN aftermarket community, both through this event, as well as our sister automotive aftermarket events in Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia in 2016 and beyond.”
The three-day event connected local and international retailers and distributors with key local and international suppliers and manufacturers. The inaugural automotive aftermarket international trade fair attracted a total audience of 2,591 of local and international buyers. A total of 222 international buyers attended the show from Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and India.
AAITF Bangkok acted as a sourcing hub, with exhibiting brands covering the full range of the auto aftermarket. On display were a wide selection of aftermarket products, including multimedia, audio, electronics, lights, interior accessories, exterior decoration, modification, coatings and car care products.
AAITF Bangkok 2015 provided a lucrative business-to-business platform for 27 international and 29 local suppliers and manufacturers of automotive aftermarket products to meet with key retailers, distributors and automotive modification and tuning workshop owners from Thailand and the ASEAN. The event caught the attention of key local and international aftermarket brands that brought their most innovative products to the show. Some of the key exhibiting brands included Meguiars, Bosch, Drivebot, SJS Pro Products Co. Ltd. and PP Super Wheels. International exhibitors included RUPES S.p.A, Autovox, Autoglym, Sussex Autoparts, inCarBite, Connects 2, Mchanix, Kunming Songcheng Automobile Repairing Equipment Co. Ltd, Lintec Singapore and Shift Performance Asia (M) SDN BHD (MaxxOil).
A representative from inCarBite, an exhibitor specializing in infotainment systems, said, “Thank you very much to the organizers for providing a great exhibition platform for inCarBite to officially launch our products in Thailand, one of the very important and growing automotive markets. We are able to meet with our current customers from Thailand to show them our new products and line up more new local agents and enhance their understanding on how inCarBite’s award-winning and patented front and rear seat infotainment/mounting solutions could bring convenience to drivers and passengers. I am also glad to share with you that we are able to meet potential international buyers from the Philippines, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia and India all of which expressed high interest to market inCarBite products in their automotive channels. Last but not the least, we are really impressed by all the excellent and very prompt pre-show and on-site customer service offered by AAITF.”
The trade expo was opened with an official opening ceremony with speeches from Peter Massey, project director, Tarsus Group Ltd. and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry. The president of the ceremony, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, and VIP attendees were then provided with an official show floor tour, stopping at key features where exhibitors such as Sussex Autoparts, inCarBite and RUPES S.p.A performed live product demonstrations.
The event hosted a technical seminar and workshop program in an innovative interactive show floor seminar theatre. The three-day program, which was well-attended by trade visitors, covered some of the most up-to-date topics in the ASEAN automotive aftermarket. Sessions included talks from Bosch, muRata Electronics Singapore, UKTUS Co. Ltd, Lintec Singapore, live workshops from RUPES S.p.A, a panel session on “Challenges and opportunities in the SE Asian auto aftermarket” chaired by Michel A. Malik, BodyShop News International Pty. Ltd. and with participants Ben Bartlett, director, MercuryPM, and Nattawat Wora, president, TAPAA, as well as a packed roundtable session on “Aftermarket E-commerce: Global Opportunities.”
The organizers will announce updated plans for the next edition of AAITF in the new year, as well as updates on its sister events MYANAUTO, CAMAUTO, PHILAUTO and AAITF Jakarta, which respectively serve the Burmese (Myanmar), Cambodian, Philippine and Indonesian markets.
Visit autoaftermarketexpos.com for more information.
